Katie Ledecky has killed the Olympics, and now it’s dead.
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We’ll let Ledecky take it from there. She has reasons to be happy having bagged 4 Gold medals and set two World record in Rio.
Ledecky pulled up to finish line at 8:04.79, 12 seconds and several body-lengths ahead of silver medalist Jazmin Carlin. That was her only event.
Katie Ledecky with her 400m freestyle gold medal in Rio.
Before the Rio Games began, Ledecky was asked if breaking the eight-minute barrier was within her reach.
“What she’s doing is ridiculous.it’s pretty incredible to watch”, said Phelps, who should know.
“I couldn’t be here where I am today without (my family)”, she said. Ledecky already owned all of the top-10 times in the history of the 800 free, and this adds another layer to her dominance.
“How Katie Ledecky became better at swimming than you are at anything”, was the headline on an article by Dave Sheinin. After Manuel’s upset victory Thursday in the 100-meter freestyle, Ledecky stayed awake to congratulate her. Manuel said she was shocked when she cracked open the bedroom door about two in the morning and was swallowed in an embrace by Ledecky.
“I’ve really looked up to Debbie and all the women freestyle swimmers on the United States team in general”, Ledecky said. “That really meant a lot to me”. Then, after her coach moved to the West Coast, Ledecky hooked up with Bruce Gemmell and never missed a beat.
At a Games where the United States set the record for the biggest number of female athlete ever at an Olympics, four of them reached a historic milestone.
Where does Ledecky go from here?
She was surely thinking about all the work she put in to make it there, not to mention all the changes to come as she gets ready to head off to college. “She’s not afraid, and her mind is open to everything”.
By way of variation there was only silver for the incomparable Michael Phelps on Friday but the Star Spangled Banner was otherwise played on a loop.
Joseph Schooling, 21, of Singapore got off to a blistering start, building a lead that not even Phelps could overcome.
Phelps settled for silver along with two longtime rivals, Chad le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary.
After winning four gold medals at these games and looking unbeatable, Phelps finally ran out of steam in what was the final individual race of his career unless he decides to come out of retirement again.
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The result also gives the 19-year-old from Bethesda, Maryland, four gold medals in the Rio Games and five medals overall, moving her into elite all-time company. But he’ll have to do with some help from his teammates, swimming in the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay on the final night of swimming on Saturday.
